The Time Bubble

Full on - the title of this entry being a pretty accurate description of the week so far. I shall try and give you a summary of the main points here, which is after all the main purpose of an online diary. Unlike my usual offerings which divert off into complete randomness all too easily, which some people sadly just don't get. I was wondering - what percentage of you out there can distinguish between when I am being deadly serious and when I am exaggerating things for comic effect? I guess you have to know me. I've been hanging around the deli counter in Sainsbury rather a lot (as you do if you are me) and I think the girls on there are getting to know me rather well now. To the extent that they know that any reduced offal that they are desperate to get rid of may tempt me, but as one of my new found friends discovered yesterday, even I have my limits. Sorry, "brawn" is off the menu, but I am sure there must be some fans out there, they wouldn't sell it otherwi...

My blog entries have been a little sparse this month, just as they were this time last year, but there's a pretty simple explanation for that - not a lot of interest has occurred worth writing about. In fact November is living up to its usual billing of being the most boring and my most disliked month of the year. Smashie and Nicey once talked about "The Great British Tuesday" implying nothing much ever happened, so I guess the worst combination is a Tuesday in November. When it rains all day. Like the one we just had. Therefore I officially declare that Tuesday 27th November 2012 was the most boring day of this year. Unless you happened to be flying off to Australia that day to get away from it all. And who does that? Answers on a postcard, please, Jo Sandy. Coming soon, by special courier from Perth Usually when things are a little quiet on the events front, I attempt to conjure up some sort of "amusing" piece based on some random interest of mine. Th...

This is a very special blog entry today. I was delighted to receive an email from Confused.com today, regarding my blog. Now I am used to receiving automated messages from companies all the time, but this was different. It seems they have not only been reading my blog, but they have also commented on my last entry. It's so nice to receive some personal feedback from a company. Not only that, but they've also invited me to submit an entry for their blogging competition. In 350 words or less, I am to describe ways to save money with the kids at half term. So here is what I have submitted. A free mini-break in Pembrokeshire awaits the winner! Seems school has hardly started, yet half-term will soon be upon us, and the kids will need entertaining. How does one do this on a budget? Well first – here’s what not to do. I recommend against going away on holiday. As I am sure you know, these weeks are very popular, and consequently very expensive compared to term time weeks – bo...

As this is supposed to be a parenting blog - "Hi everyone on Mumsnet", I suppose it would be just as well if I did the occasional post about the children! That was the original intention however I do seem to get sidetracked off onto random topics and exploring some of the strange ideas that come into my head. It's a bit of a mixed blog for that reason - you never really know what you are going to get. Like a bag of Revels - which incidentally is like a game of Russian Roulette for me - what with the peanut allergy and all. In fact people from mumsnet who read this must think I am some sort of weirdo. In fact most of my friends do, so what chance have I got with random strangers when they read my questionnaire's and readers letters. Probably thing it's the outpouring of a seriously deranged mind. What you, my loyal readers must remember at all times that there's a lot of poetic license in what I write, intended purely for amusement value. For instance, on...

Why do I write this blog? Quite simple really -because I love writing and what I love even more is that people out there are interested in reading my writing. Until blogging came along I didn't have a public forum for my thoughts. I bemoaned the lack of Bicester bloggers in a recent post and that's still the case. But there is clearly a demand for it - the number of people reading my blog continues to escalate and I have people come up to me in the street and say things like "Hey - you're that blogger guy - you have a real way with words" or "have you ever considered writing professionally"? Well - yes, I have, but I've never really given it any serious thought, considering it more as a hobby. But then I said that about DJ'ing which I dabbled in and out of for years, until suddenly realising there was a living to be made out of it - that I could do alongside being a full time dad - and the last four years I've been living the dream. B...

I wish more people would blog. By that I mean people I know, and also people who live locally who I don't know but who interact within the same community. Perhaps I am a little parochial, but I am far more interested in what is going on within my local community than in the wider world. Yes obviously I read the paper every day to keep up on what is happening in the wider world, but it's the world I directly live in that interests and affects me. For example the headlines today are all about a new EU plan to stop the banks failing. Now whilst I don't deny that all of this has some long term affect on my personal prosperity it does not affect how I live my life on a daily basis - and it won't have any influence on whether I decide to go to the shops or to the park today. I am interested in people - and by that I mean real people. Sadly it seems that we as a culture are generally obsessed only with the celebrity. I never read the red top tabloids because they hold no...